Abigail Williams And Elizabeth In The Crucible

The way someone sees another may reflect upon themself more than anything; showing the hidden through judgements of peers. One’s own dilemmas within their lives can be shadowed by misguided hatred for others, thus creating unwanted problems for all parties involved. This can be seen in real life as well as in novels, but specifically between Abigail Williams and Elizabeth Proctor. In the play titled “The Crucible,” Abigail and Elizabeth illustrate that contrasting personalities can reveal who a person truly is; essentially removing the mask of perception.
Abigail’s perception of herself and those around her fuels her power hungry state that ruins many people’s lives. This is illustrated when Abigail’s character is threatened and she responds

Specifically, her hostility is revealed as she explains that “Abigail brings the other girls into the court, and where she walks the crowd will part like the sea for Israel. And folks are brought before them, and if they scream and howl and fall to the floor-the person’s clapped in the jail for bewitchin’ them” (Miller 50). Elizabeth clouds her own personal problems with ways to destroy Abigail, in leid of working on her family and marriage. This is used as a coping mechanism to temporarily rid herself of the terrifying thing that is life, and focus her energy on something unimportant. People belittle others so they don’t have to deal with themselves. Nevertheless, perception doesn’t only affect the way people deal with others, but how they act themselves, “Why-! The girl [Abigail] is murder! She must be ripped out of the world!” (Miller 72). Elizabeth’s loathing for the person she perceives Abigail to be has lead her to say things that she never would have before. Abigail’s actions are able to expose Elizabeth for who she really is; showing a side of her that nobody, not even her husband, has seen before. Hate almost seems to pull people’s true feelings from the depths of social